In this and succeeding issues we'll deal with the FACTS of the case. We'll describe the events, as told by the media and as we've experienced them - and we'll try not appear too judgemental. Beginnings - 1989 Tom Theofanous, working with The Canadian UFO Research Network (CUFORN), received a package from someone calling themselves 'Guardian'. It had no return address.

"The package contained a story about a UFO crash that supposedly happened close to Carlton Place, which is about a half-hour drive from Ottawa", Tom said. "There was also a photo-copied picture of an Alien." "For the most part, we thought it was a joke. But, CUFORN director Harry Tokarz decided to call Arthur Bray, a well-respected UFO author and researcher who lives in Ottawa, and ask him if he had someone in the Carlton area who could check out the story for us. As luck would have it, Arthur knew a fellow who was fascinated by the field of ufology, Graham Lightfoot."

Graham, with what was to become typical thoroughness, used the somewhat sketchy co-ordinates he got from Arthur Bray to not only pinpoint the 'UFO crash-site' near Manion Corners, but also locate a number of witnesses. One of those witnesses, Diane Labanek, claimed that on the night of November 4th 1989, she saw an intense, bright light pass overhead, heading towards a swamp at the far end of the field behind and south of her home. She said she also saw several helicopters earlier that evening using bright lights to scan the area. Another West Carlton resident recalled that that was the weekend when some cattle escaped from a nearby pasture and that it took till late Sunday to round them up. A couple told Graham about the wife being scared by a very bright light shone through their south-facing bathroom window. "It reached right down our hallway!". The wife also mentioned that she vaguely remembered hearing the sound of helicopters at the time. Others talked of "dogs and cattle being disturbed". Many people could think of absolutely nothing unusual happening during the course of the weekend, including a couple who had a telescope set-up. Graham reported those findings to CUFORN, along with results of his examination of the field and swamp behind Labanek's home - there were no signs on the ground, anywhere, of the heavy equipment that would be needed to recover a 'crashed craft'. His report closed with, "although I could find nothing conclusive to support or disprove any of the witnesses claims. I shall check back around the area later this summer." The same Guardian material had been sent to several other investigators, researchers and UFO groups and as the story spread, both the former Provincial Director of MUFON Ontario Clive Nadin, and the current Quebec Director Christian Page, visited the area on separate occasions, and spoke to the 'witnesses'. They confirmed Graham Lightfoot's initial findings and agreed with Tom & Harry at CUFORN that someone was "trying to put us on - a hoax!" Guardian re-surfaces - 1991 In the middle of October 1991 CUFORN began receiving more Guardian 'information' via the mail and all postmarked 'Ottawa'. An envelope with some documents that mention a 'conspiracy' between the Chinese and 'Grey Aliens that are planning to take over the world', arrived first. Then came a Polaroid photograph of a 'UFO' flying across an unidentified road. A while later came a black & white picture of a grey-type 'Alien'. The fourth delivery in the series was a package. It contained the now infamous VHS video tape with a green label on the cassette, with a thumb print and the word GUARDIAN printed on the label. There were also three playing cards in the package, all with hand written notes on them - an Ace, King and Joker. A photo-copied map showed the 'Grey's landing area', along with notes explaining that the flares in the video were used to help the UFO, which can out maneuver anything on the planet, fly under the radar and know where to land! There were also 'Canadian Department of National Defense documents' enclosed - which, upon later investigation, proved to be forgeries. These 'documents', it is thought, were designed to look like the official documents on UFOs that Canadian UFO author/researcher Stanton Friedman acquired, via 'The Freedom of Information Act', from the United States Government. The video - a few minutes long - showed two different angles of what Guardian alleges was an 'alien craft', on the ground. First, a long shot of bright lights clumped together to the right of the scene and what looked like four red emergency road flares or fires in barrels on the left side of the screen. The second scene showed the same clump of bright lights from approximately the same distance but more to the centre without any flares and the sound of a single dog barking in the distance. The third scene was only three frames long and was a close-up of a a pair of wipers half-way across a very Earth-bound vehicle! CUFORN pondered what to do with all the Guardian information that arrived in October of '91 and decided, that in view of the season - winter, that they would hold off visiting Carlton until after the spring run-off. Enter Oechsler At the beginning of March '92, Bob Oechsler (pronounced Bob Ex-ler) an American MUFON investigator - who describes himself a 'former NASA mission specialist' - called CUFORN from his home in Maryland. Apparently, he too had received a video and documents from Guardian, although when comparisons of the two videos were discussed, his had an additional scene - a somewhat closer one minute shot of the 'alien craft'. His version also had a couple of minutes worth of the windshield, plus several still shots of the 'Grey Aliens'. The most important difference, however, was that his version of the tape had no audio-track at all - "it seems it was intentionally removed", says Tom Theofanous. Oechsler had shown the tape to Bruce Macabbee and they agreed that what they saw was a UFO and should be investigated further - and that's why Oechsler called Tom at CUFORN. They agreed they would meet in Carlton, Ontario on May 10th 1992. Tom then called and spoke with Graham Lightfoot, for the first time, and Graham agreed to act as guide for the May meeting. It transpired that Graham worked for The O.F.A - The Ontario Federation of Agriculture - and knew the Carlton area and its farmers well. The First Visit On May 10th, Mother's Day, 1991, Torontonians, Tom & Lise Theofanous, Victor Lourenco, Vaughn [LAST NAME?], Drew Williamson, Harry Tokarz and Wayne St. John met with Oechsler, his son and Graham Lightfoot at the motel the Oechslers were staying at in West Carlton, near Ottawa, Ontario. They all had breakfast together as Oechsler told many, many fascinating stories. Eventually they ended up in Oechsler's motel room to compare their copies of the Guardian video. "Oechsler, despite being an expert in video analysis, had a great deal of difficulty connecting my video camera up to the tv set in his room so that we could play back the Guardian videos. In retrospect, his combination of technical ineptness and more story telling seemed to be a stalling tactic", said Tom.

They stopped at a spot off Highway 7 near Manion Corners and Graham pointed out the direction from which the 1989 'UFO' had come when it 'crashed', and where the Labanek's house was in relation to where the group was standing. Oechsler seemed to be stalling once more, shooting video of everything. Finally, they set off again. "This time Oechsler took the lead, with me following him and Graham who's supposed to be our guide following me!" Tom says. "I thought at the time that this was pretty odd. How did Oechsler, who supposedly had never been to Canada, let alone this area before, know his way, using side-roads and making the correct turns toward our destination?"

Earlier, Oechsler had asked the Toronto group to check for anomalies on their compasses while they were driving, because the Guardian papers described magnetic changes in certain parts of the area the group was travelling in. "So, we're driving down a small hill when Oechsler braked suddenly up ahead of us, stopped and came back to our car to tell me that he had found an anomaly on his two compasses", Tom recounts, "now, he had both of his laying in the back of his pick-up on the metal floor where they were bouncing around. His son was keeping an eye on them from the cab. I told him that the three compasses, we were holding in the palms of our hands, in our car didn't waver at all. But, he insisted that he'd go back up the hill, by himself, and check again." While the rest of the group stood around waiting for Oechsler, Drew Williamson noticed a Stop-sign at the end of a long driveway leading to an abandoned farmhouse with a For-Sale sign on it. Tom continues - "I looked through my binoculars at the Stop-sign and saw that it was propped up by rocks. There were other signs around it that read 'Do Not Enter' and 'DND Killing Fields'. The last one had pictographs of tanks, helicopters and weapons on it and appeared to be riddled with bullet-holes.

"So, out of curiosity, we went over to the signs and looked more closely." "We found tracks left by cars and what might have been four- wheeled vehicles, leading into the property. We felt that perhaps the field around the old farm house was being used for 'War Games' - or maybe even was the location used for the Guardian video." "Why? Because the terrain was perfect - lots (200 acres) of open field. I also noticed a dog barking up at the house at the top of the hill." said Tom. This would become significant later in identifying the possible location of the Guardian video shoot. "Eventually, we continued along Corkery Road. But, when I mentioned to Oechsler that we should be interviewing the people in the neighbourhood we were passing, who were out sitting in their front gardens or working on their lawns, he insisted that we look for the 'crash' or 'landing' sites." Guardian's map described an area about one and a quarter miles square, which consisted of dense, knee-high scrub, and wet, swampland.

The group headed toward it, using a path beneath high-tension power transmission lines that cut across below the southern end of the Labanek's property. Most of them had great difficulty with the rough conditions and became very tired, annoyed by biting mosquitoes and soaked by the swampy ground. They gave about a half way into the swamp and headed back to the back to the parking lot. Tom picks up the story again: "Bob and his son continued to look for the landing site as the rest of us left the swamp in a couple of different groups. Lise, Drew, Wayne and I left first and drove off looking for a drink of cold pop." "When we got back to the parking lot twenty minutes later, the second group out had left a note on our windshield saying they'd meet us at a restaurant twenty minutes away in Carp. We left a note on the Oechsler's truck windshield telling them where we'd be. "The first of our group to arrive at the restaurant ordered their food and twenty minutes later the rest of us arrived and placed our orders."

"Thirty minutes later, as Oechsler and his son were walking through the door, I jokingly said: I bet he'll say he found the spot!" "As he sat down, I asked him what had happened. He smiled and said he'd found the spot." "I asked how he'd managed to do that when we'd left him a about a mile from his car in a dense swamp halfway to the alleged site and it was getting dark. There simply hadn't been enough time to get there examine the 'site' and get back out to his truck and drive to the restaurant. He just smiled, but didn't answer." After they finished their dinner, Drew, Victor and Vaughn decided to leave for Toronto. Graham suggested that the remainder should go talk to the Labanek, and he and Harry left ahead of Tom & Lise and the Oechslers, since Oechsler senior was still eating. The seven of them would meet at the corner by the Labaneks. "Lise, Wayne and I confronted Oechsler out in the parking lot, where the three of us had gone to discuss the days events privately."

"I asked him what he was trying to pull here. He responded by asking "what's wrong with trying to make a buck?", I answered that there was nothing wrong with making money as long as we didn't compromise our ethics." "Oechsler came back with: "No matter what or how good the story is, 50% of the people will believe you, 50% wont. All you have to care about is the 50% that will". "It was at that point", recalls Tom, "that I decided to back away from the investigation for a while to see what Oechsler would do." They joined the others at Manion Corner by the Labaneks house - Graham had knocked on their door but there was no one home. So, they waited, enjoying a pleasant early summer evening, talking. The Labaneks didn't get home till after 10 p.m, which the group felt was late to do an interview. Graham and Oechsler would come back the next morning and talk to them Tom finishes up this part of the story: "I told Graham about the conversation that I had in the parking lot of the restaurant with Oechsler, after he left the restaurant. Then Lise, Harry, Wayne and I left for Toronto, shaking our heads."

(Credits: March, May & July 1994 issues of "THE MUFON ONTARIO NEWSLETTER") 

*The following morning, Graham Lightfoot, Oechsler and his son met and drove to the Labanek's home at Manion Corners near Carp, Ontario. Graham reintroduced himself and asked Diane Labanek if she remembered him. "Vaguely" she said, and then remembered their conversation about a bright light that had headed towards the swamp at the bottom of her field back in 1990. *When asked if she had seen anything strange since then, she described an event that happened in their field. It seems she was putting her children to bed one night in August 1991 and something caught here eye from the second floor bedroom. *Labanek described seeing what she thought was a fire, or perhaps flares burning at the far end of the field behind the house and as she watched, a 'craft' landed next to the fire/flares. "After a few minutes, maybe five or eight, the very bright lights on the craft went out - just like you turn off a light-bulb. And soon after, the flares went out. Then some minutes later, a helicopter came and hovered over the area - like they were looking for something" she said. *When she was asked later why she hadn't called the fire department about a 'fire' burning in her field, which was tinder dry in the August heat, she replied "I didn't think that anyone would believe and I thought I'd get into trouble!" *On Oechsler's next visit to the Labanek's, she was asked to draw what she had seen. She drew a craft that she described as being silver/grey, with a zigzag design around it, sitting on three blocks which, coincidently, matched a drawing that was in one of the Guardian packages (see MUFON Ontario Newsletter, Volume 1.1, page 14) - a drawing that she maintained she'd never seen. *Labanek was able to see an object and details that were over 2200 feet away in the dark and brightly lit from the bottom up. Guardian's video camera, which was closer, couldn't see the 'thunderbolt insignia' around the 'craft' or the three 'blocks' beneath the craft. The video clearly shows the 'craft' to be red and not silver/grey.

MORE ON GUARDIAN'S VIDEO

*In the version of Guardians video that was sent to CUFORN, the Canadian UFO Research Network, the last three frames show a windshield with the wiper blades in an upright position. Why would Guardian put those frames that appear to have been shot at night with artificial light, on the tape? Were those frames designed to give a clue as to what the craft really was? *In the course of one of many discussions between the investigators, Tom Theofanous asked Oechsler what he thought about the windshield footage on Guardian's video. Oechsler replied that it wasn't a windshield but rather the design on the side of the 'craft'. Tom asked how he'd come to that conclusion? Oechsler replied "Well there's Diane's evidence together with my expertise in analysis - that's how." *Oechsler had once again brought up his 'qualifications and expertise', which he seemingly did and still does at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately, Oechsler's qualifications on the subject of windshields were definitely non-existent when compared to Tom's - he's been running a windshield repair company for the past seven years!

FIELD INVESTIGATOR OECHSLER

*Oechsler and Graham went out to the field after their first talk with Diane Labanek. The previous night, at a restaurant, Oechsler had claimed that he had found the 'landing site' and now insisted that they look for 'evidence'. He spotted an area of grass that had been "dug up during the landing". Graham, who works for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, patiently explained that skunks caused that kind of damage while looking for grubs. *Oechsler's biography touts his experience in dealing with the UFO phenomenon and his expertise in 'field work', an expertise not on display that day. "He seemed not to know what he was looking for or anything much about country nature" Graham observed later. *Oechsler's inexperience continued to make to show as he pointed to vegetation that had "been treated with microwave radiation"! How did he come to that conclusion without using any instruments? "It's very dry and brittle, so it's obviously been irradiated" Oechsler said. * *The 'irradiated' plants were Juniper bushes that always look that way after a Canadian winter - bleached, dried and flattened by heavy snow, probably in much the same way as in Maryland, Oechsler's home-state . *Graham and Oechsler continued to examine what Oechsler was convinced was the landing site. He then asked Graham if he had anything to put samples in. Graham thought that it was extremely odd that an investigator of Oechsler's 'calibre' would show up with no sample containers and handed over some empty film canisters for Oechsler's samples.

*On returning to Labanek's house later that day, Labanek told them that her husband Bill had "gone for milk" at around 10:00pm on the evening of the 'landing' and had missed it. Bill Labanek had been doing a 'milk-run' on the night in 1989 when there had been a 'crash' in their swamp. *He didn't seem to be at all concerned about what had transpired on his property on either occasion. He didn't bother to take the time to go look at the spot which his wife said had been a 'UFO landing site'. *Diane Labanek claims to have gone only part way into the field the day after the 'landing', looked briefly in the direction of the 'landing site', didn't see anything, and walked back to the house. *She had told no one about what she saw that night until Graham and Oechsler asked her about it. *Why didn't she walk the remaining couple of hundred yards to where this 'amazing event' took place? She says that it was a beautiful summer evening too. *That evening Graham called Tom in Toronto and recounted the days events. They discussed Oechsler and his amateurish approach to the investigation and observed that a pattern seemed to be emerging. It seemed that Oechsler was incompetent, egocentric and attempting to steer the case and its facts to fit in with his own agenda.

HELICOPTERS

*As a follow-up to Diane Labanek's assertions about helicopter activity following the 'landing', Investigator Drew Williamson called the Department of National Defence (DND) on May 12, 1992. He was told that the military held exercises every August using helicopters and that they had to get permission from landowners for the choppers to land in their fields. If an emergency were to arise and a helicopter had to land DND would pay compensation for any damage caused. *On July 12, 1992, Graham made a number of calls to various military establishments to get information on helicopter activity. He was told that they don't use flares during landings at night, but do use Chem-Sticks that glow in the dark. Captain Mark Bigoutte said that although choppers were on exercise on August 19, 1991, they were many miles to the west of Manion Corners. ** *** *On July 14, 1992 Oechsler arrived back at Graham's place and the next day they went to Uplands Royal Canadian Airforce base and showed Colonel Cajo Brando and Major Norm Patterson the Guardian video - over and over.

*Colonel Brando didn't think it was a helicopter and when shown a photograph taken by one of the Labanek children of a Huey Helicopter that Diane Labanek maintained had 'buzzed' their home after the 'landing', he said, "It's not one ours, they were decommissioned (taken out of active-service) two years ago." *Brando suggested that it may have been an American chopper that had come across the border without notifying Canadian authorities - something which, apparently, happens often. *Later that day, Graham and Oechsler returned to the Labanek's and collected some fifteen soil and plant samples from the supposed 'landing' site. On a radio call-in show, March 30th '93, Oechsler claimed to have collected "over a hundred samples from all over the area"! UNSOLVED MYSTERIES

*Oechsler, in a conversation with Graham and Tom expressed interest in getting the case on the 'Unsolved Mysteries' tv show, feeling that it might flush Guardian out. Tom countered that it might be better to further investigate the claims of the 'witnesses' before giving the case national tv exposure. *What neither Tom nor Graham knew at the time, was that Oechsler had already gone ahead and made a deal with Unsolved Mysteries to shoot a segment on the Carp Case in the fall. *** *In the following three months preparations were made for the shooting of the 'Unsolved' segment with Graham received many calls from and eventually met the tv show's Bob Kiviat and Bob Wise. **** *Oechsler flew into Ottawa in mid October 1992 with the 'Unsolved' crew and interviewed Major Patterson about the Guardian 'Documents'.

*Graham, feeling as he did about Oechsler's 'slant' on the case was very reluctant to appear on the show and it took many calls from various production people to eventually talk him into appearing. *On November 15, 1992 participants in the Carp segment gathered at General Assembly for the taping. Graham met Bruce Macabbee for the first time and, to use his words, "was not very impressed." He put his contribution 'in the can' the next day at the Labanek's.

GUARDIAN REVEALED

*In the course of a meeting on November 19, 1992 Graham learned that a man named Andy Williams claimed that he knew who Guardian was. Graham and Oechsler arranged to meet with Williams the next day in Ottawa. Andy Williams explained that a friend of many years, Bobby Charlebois, had an on-going interest in UFOs and had called himself 'Guardian' over the course of those years. He went on to give details about Bobby Charlebois and his 'interests'. *Oechsler, inexplicably, gave Andy Williams much material regarding the Carp case. *On November 22nd, Graham discovered that a co-worker knew Bobby Charlebois well - his sister, Meg had dated the Guardian 'suspect'. Graham talked with Meg and she confirmed that Charlebois was an avid UFO buff and had discussed the phenomenon on many occasions in the past. *Despite having signed an 'exclusive' with Unsolved Mysteries to not do another show until 30 days after their 'airing' of the Carp Case, Oechsler records a segment for 'Sightings' in January of 1993 without telling Graham until after the fact. *Interestingly, Dr. A.J. Quarington a 'witness' participates in 'Sightings' after refusing meet or even discuss the case with Graham and Clive Nadin (the former Director of MUFON Ontario) in the early stages of the investigation.

FINGERPRINTS

*On February 1, 1993 Oechsler and Graham meet with reporter Lois Tuffin, who also knows Bobby Charlebois well. Oechsler asked her to deliver a large package of UFO material to Charlebois in the hopes of getting his fingerprints. She did so, but the package was returned to her an hour later. *The following day Oechsler collected the package from Lois and took it to the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) to have it checked for fingerprints. There were none and the feeling was that Charlebois had out-smarted them, wiping the package clean. It seems that Charlebois has something to hide. *Diane Labanek, on hearing Bobby Charlebois name said that she had known him "for a while" and that he was a good friend who visited often. *Oechsler asked her to try and get Charlebois' fingerprints from any drinking glasses that he might use. Labanek claimed that Charlebois always wiped them clean.

(Credits: March, May & July 1994 issues of "THE MUFON ONTARIO NEWSLETTER")

(Credits: March, May & July 1994 issues of "THE MUFON ONTARIO NEWSLETTER") *On February 4, 1993 Graham and Oechsler went to the Labanek's where Leanne Cuzak interviewed Bob Oechsler and Diane Labanek for CJOH-TV, Ottawa. *During this interview Labanek claimed that "a lot of others had seen the event that had transpired in my field". She didn't, however, seem to recall any names and in talking to many residents in the Manion Corner area, MUFON Ontario has not been able to find any other witnesses to the 'UFO Landing'. *During the CJOH-TV interview that day Oechsler also claimed that he too had received a large number of calls from 'witnesses'. Graham wasn't aware of any calls to the Labanek's or anywhere else other than a few to Oechsler's hotel.

*Later that day, Graham Lightfoot and Oechsler met with a couple of high school girls in Almonte, a short drive from the Labanek's. They had called the Unsolved Mysteries Hotline, which again Graham wasn't aware of, to report that they knew who Guardian was. The name they gave wasn't Charlebois'. Oechsler told them who Guardian was. Oechsler, despite avowing not to, was blowing Guardian's cover'. *On February 24, 1993, Labanek told Graham and Oechsler about a sighting that her mother had the previous week. Her mother had seen a 'craft' hovering "not fifty feet from the house" but was too scared at the time to call out to anybody. *Later Labanek claimed that her husband saw a 'craft' around the same spot as the August '91 sighting. There were no explanations as to when or if there were any traces of this second 'landing'. *Apparently, neither of these 'incidents' were of interest to Oechsler and he has only mentioned them very briefly since and only in passing! *If these two events were 'real' why wouldn't he have investigated them too, instead of making such a fuss about the 'evidence' that he'd found nine months after the August '91 'landing'? Labanek's mother's and husband's 'experiences' would have surely produced more witnesses and ground effects?! *Labanek has constantly complained about being harassed by 'low-flying' helicopters that blew shingles off her roof. When close neighbours were questioned by MUFON Ontario investigators about any low-flying choppers they might have observed, they only mentioned the regular Air Ambulance flights that passed overhead and the occasional military or Mountie aircraft. Not one mentioned choppers flying at unusually low altitudes - below the regulation five-hundred feet.

Still Frame from Video

*At the time of describing her mother's 'sighting' to Graham and Oechsler, Labanek told of a white helicopter that passed over the house the following day. Subsequent investigation showed that it was a NATO aircraft on a training-exercise and that it too would not have been flying below the standard five-hundred foot level. *Due to the proximity of the Labanek's neighbours it would be impossible for a helicopter to fly low enough to blow the shingles off one house and not be noticed by the residents of neighbouring houses.

*Labanek had told Graham that she knew nothing about UFOs, nor did she care about them or talk about them with anyone. And yet, when the Unsolved Mysteries show was being taped at her home, one of the 'grips' on the crew setting up a scene (in which Guardian was mailing a video) in Labanek's basement recreation room, found "cupboards containing many UFO books".

*On February 28, 1993 Graham wrote the following to Bob Kiviat, *producer of the Unexplained Mysteries segment on 'Guardian'.

* * **Bob Kiviat, Producer

**Cosgrove/ Meurer Productions

*Dear Bob,

**No doubt you've heard from Oechsler that there has been *another sighting at Labanek's... on Feb 17th '93. It was *Diane's mother who saw the event at 11:10 pm, very close to *the house. She was so frightened that she didn't call to *Diane and no one else saw it. She said the craft was right *over the garden which means it was within 50 feet of the *house. It hovered there for a short while and moved south *over the swamp, in the direction that the 1989 'crash' light *was seen. It came back beside the house and then moved off *out of sight over the swamp. She described it as having a *flashing light on top and lots of light all around it. She *pulled the curtains from the window, but didn't wake anyone *else in the house. The next day a white helicopter arrived *and flew over the same course.

**Oechsler may or may not have told you he is working *with the RCMP in trying to get Guardian's (Bobby *Charlesbois) fingerprints. He tells me he is trying to get *the RCMP to charge Bobby with a minor charge of forging DND *documents to scare him into an admission. This is contrary *to Oechsler's stated intent to Bobby, of not disclosing *Bobby's identity if he wished to remain anonymous.

* **I am trusting you to keep my comments to you in **confidence from Oechsler as I will no doubt be working with **him again on this case. I have no problem working with him **at arms length, but his methods and rather chaotic behavior **bothers me. He has told me that he wants to set up a **24-hours a day, two week watch at the the Labanek's since he **feels the sightings will re-occur in the near future. He **has no funding for this operation and told me he will seek **help from your company in this regard.

* * **This may all be a good idea, but my feeling is that **these things will run their course, with or without 24-hour **surveillance. In fact I'd hazard a guess that the event is **less likely to occur with surveillance. * ***I've heard through the grapevine that the 'expert' on **the Sightings show claims he doesn't know who Oechsler is, **never met him. It seems Sightings showed the tape to this **'expert' and he said he didn't know what it was. Also **MUFON is distancing itself from Oechsler after their **credibility suffered with the Gulf Breeze story. It seems **Oechsler wants to speak at their annual meeting and they **don't want him there.

* ***Oechsler has a lot of background information and he **certainly has a lot of contacts that are invaluable in doing **research of this nature. He is persistent in looking for **evidence, yet at the same time he often tries to build a **case to fit his preconceived story line.

* ***This bothers me.

** ***We have talked about his ego and wanting credit for **everything he learns. That's OK by me. In the Labanek **case he used a lot of material that I got for him. The show **implied that he found Labanek's place from the Guardian map. **He could have spent weeks looking for the location on his **own.

* ***But what bothers me the most is his tunnel vision, that **only he can find the answers.

* ******- Graham Lightfoot

* *On March 4, '93, Oechsler phoned Graham to boast that he had asked the RCMP to apply pressure the Guardian suspect, Bobby Charlebois, by charging him with forging Department of National Defence documents. *In actual fact, the only way the RCMP would have paid any attention would have been if a formal complaint was filed by a Canadian Citizen. *What Oechsler didn't tell Graham was that a complaint was lodged by the Labaneks who told the RCMP that they were being 'harassed' by helicopters flying over their property, below the 500 feet minimum set by the Federal Government. *March 8, brought a call from Labanek to Graham. She complained about being 'harassed' by the RCMP. She said that they tried to get her to sign a 'confession' ( her word ) that craft she saw landing in her field on the night of August 18, 1991 was a helicopter! She also claimed that Bobby 'Guardian' Charlebois was also being 'harassed' by the Mounties and had hired a lawyer.

*Graham, at the time, was convinced that Labanek was telling the truth and felt that something should be done about her complaints. He called Charlie Greenwell at CJOH-TV in Ottawa and suggested that perhaps the station could cover the story on their local news. A report aired three days later on the 6 O'clock News. *CJOH-TV's news item infuriated Oechsler. On March 29, he blasted Graham for giving the story to a TV station. This puzzled Graham - why would Oechsler take exception to him helping Labanek expose RCMP harassment?

*What Graham didn't know was that the complaint to the Mounties was lodged by the Labaneks, apparently at the urging of Oechsler, to increase the credibility of the Carp Case. * A censored copy of the RCMP report on the case, obtained by Christian Page of The Mutual UFO Network (MufoN) in Quebec, told a different story.

*The Labanek's complaint was actually filed with the RCMP on February 10, 1993! The purpose of the investigation was to:

[Quote from RCMP Report ]

*1.*ascertain if sufficient evidence was available to support a **prosecution under the Aeronautics Act, Section 534 (2) (b) **for flying below 500 feet

* *2. *ascertain if in fact the object observed was an aircraft

* *3.*ascertain if the craft observed (by complainant) is a UFO **(as per complainant).

[End Quote]

*The investigation by RCMP Constable De Haitre, started on February 15, 1993 with interviews of the Labanek's neighbours.

*De Haitre found that signs bearing the words 'Defence Canada', 'Killing Fields', and a 'Test Area' sign with a hand-painted tank and 'Air-Wolf' helicopter on it had been seen in a field that later proved to be owned by the Labanek's. Const. De Haitre observed in his report that the lettering-style on the signs was similar to those in the Guardian documents. *Constable De Haitre was told by one of the Labaneks neighbours that another sign had the word 'Nuclear' mis-spelled as 'Nucleear'. *Oechsler then directed his energies toward De Haitre and Canadian Airforce Major Patterson - which created more confusion. *Oechsler told Constable De Haitre about finding Titanium at the 'landing site' in the Labanek's field and showed him some of the photographs that he had taken. He also told De Haitre that there were no traces of Strontium, which there would have been had the flares at the 'site' been of the military 'high-heat', type.

*Later, in the February/March issue of UFO Library Magazine, Oechsler wrote that he "had the smoking-gun in the pyrotechnical mystery". He now claimed that there was evidence of Lithium Carbonate which is not used in military flares, but rather in "expensive fireworks displays" (or perhaps in roadside emergency flares?). Fireworks that, of course, can be purchased at any 7-11 Store. *Isn't it strange that he would wait a whole year to tell the world the results of his 'tests'? *Oechsler had results of a test that refuted his completely baseless theory about military flares being used at the Carp 'landing site' and didn't publish them for over a year? *And what did he do during that time? He travelled the lecture circuit making money telling people that the flares were definitely military in origin because of the strontium residue that he didn't find at the 'landing site'! *Oechsler tried to cement his relationship with the RCMP. He told Constable De Haitre about his 'witnesses' and his 'analysis' of the Guardian video and suggested that Bobby 'Guardian' Charlebois be charged under the 'Fraudulent Cheque Act' for distributing forged Government documents (the 'Canadian Department of National Defence' documents). De Haitre concluded that no charges could be laid.

*De Haitre investigated Oechsler's claims about Titanium and Strontium flare-residue and included the results about the circumstances under which they could and could not be found and where, in the final RCMP report on the case. * Several conversations and correspondence occurred between Oechsler and Constable De Haitre, all of which the Mountie, naturally, recorded in his notes on the case. *MUFON Ontario has recently acquired a 150 page package of De Haitre's notes and correspondence from Oechsler to the RCMP. This package will be published shortly, as an appendix, in The MUFON Ontario Report on The Guardian Case

Five Objects Hover Over Canadian Field

Date: September 1, 1974

Location: Langenburg, Saskatchewan, Canada

Farmer Edwin Fuhr saw a symmetrical bun-shaped object that was hovering about a foot off the ground. He noted also that the grass underneath was being imparted a clockwise swirling motion. [There were] four additional identical objects...

At 11:30 a.m. Sunday, September 1, farmer Edwin Fuhr, 6 1/2 miles out of Langenburg, Sask., Canada, was harvesting his rape (a seed oil plant) crop. As he approached a slough on his land, he saw what he thought was a "spun Aluminum duck blind" (He said later that he had seen such a blind advertised in Field & Stream Magazine) and assumed it had been placed there by a neighbor. (He also described it as looking like stainless steel.) He dismounted from his swather (a mowing machine) and approached the object on foot. As he drew near, he noted that the object was a symmetrical bun shape and that it was hovering about a foot off the ground. 

He noted also that the grass underneath was being imparted a clockwise swirling motion. While watching for about two minutes from a distance of 15 feet, he noticed that "the whole thing was turning." Returning to the swather, he noted four additional identical objects to his left. He sat motionless for about 15 minutes and watched. He said he wanted to leave but couldn't (the inference here is that he was too terrified to operate the controls of his swather properly). After about 15 minutes, the objects all left simultaneously moving straight up. They exhibited a grey mist underneath and "a strong downwind."

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police heard about the case by word of mouth and launched an investigation. The corporal in charge of the area is of the opinion that Mr. Fuhr's account is reliable.

In his investigation, the R.C.M.P. constable found a circular swirl of grass for each UFO position reported by Mr. Fuhr. In the center of each swirl the grass remained erect. Mr. Don Coulthard, APRO F.I., will continue this investigation. Further de tails will be reported in the APRO Bulletin when available. 

Source: APRO Bulletin, Vol. 23 No. 2 (Sept/Oct 1974)

Source: http://ufoevidence.org/cases/case304.htm

The phantom lights of St. Louis

A blip on the map

One of those little "blink and you miss it" towns, St. Louis, south of Prince Albert, doesn't seem like a place with dozens of tales to tell. Ironically, it has one of the most well-known, and mysterious legends of any community in Canada. And that's why it's worthy of being in our Haunted Humboldt series. Even if the folklore surrounding a haunting is still strong, usually the actual sightings have since subsided. Not in this case. 

The ghost light of St. Louis is still spotted to this day and is just as baffling as it was years ago, when it was first spotted before cars were even invented. It's often thought of to be a ghost train, since the lights are seen over an abandoned railway bed, the tracks removed decades ago. Some say the origins involve the tragic demise of an engineer or conductor; one story goes that a worker was doing a routine check of the tracks when the train, not able to stop in time, struck and decapitated him. Locals for years have been saying that the light is a sign that the man is still searching for his head.

Another tale goes that a railway worker would wave a lantern at nighttime, signaling to the trains when they needed to switch tracks. Like the other story, the train wasn't able to stop and ran over the worker. Some speculate the light is the man's lantern, as he walks up and down the railway bed, warning others of the disaster. As dramatic and bizarre as some of these tales are, there are many, many visitors to the area who claim to have witnessed phenomena correlating with the aforementioned tales.

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One man claims that in the summer of 1997, he and a group of friends decided to check out the phantom light, like so many people do. Parking their car on the dirt path that was once a railway track, they decided to leave it running since legend says the car won't restart if it's turned off. He claims after being there for about half an hour, they finally saw the oncoming lights of a train, and a smaller, lantern light beside it. Scared to death, they hightailed it out of there, hearing the sound of a train whistle in the distance. "There was no way it was just headlights from cars on the highway," the man says, shooting down the most common theory that aims to debunk the ghost light legend. "The cars are too far away to be that. It was a light directly on the old tracks."

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Echoing this story is a man named Chris McLeod. His experience with the light of St. Louis is recounted in Jo-Anne Christensen's book Ghost Stories of Saskatchewan. In Christensen's book, Chris recalled a winter night in 1987 where he and a friend left Prince Albert and drove out to the abandoned railway bed to try and figure out what this ghost light really was. Also hearing the myth about car troubles the ghost light causes, the two boys left the car running as they sat in it, waiting to see the approaching lights. "We didn't have to wait long," Chris says. The ghost lights appeared and began getting bigger and bigger as it got closer to their car.

The teens sat fixated on the eerie spectacle until something else quickly diverted their attention. Steam began billowing out from under the hood of their car. Thinking they had left the car running for too long and the radiator had boiled over, they quickly lept out of the car to peak under the hood. It wasn't steam.

It was smoke coming from a small fire in the alternator. With no way to extinguish the flames, they got back in the car and drove as fast as they could on the highway back to Prince Albert, hoping the flames would burn out on the trip.

Strangely enough, the flames suddenly disappeared, the car giving them no trouble whatsoever for their trek back up the highway. When a mechanic checked out the car the next day, he said he couldn't find a problem with the car, saying it looked to be in completely normal condition. Stories about the ghost light of St. Louis are by the hundreds; some say as the light approaches, their car's windshield wipers will suddenly turn on or their headlights will begin blinking on and off. Others say their engine will shut off out of nowhere, or won't start back up, forcing them to call a towing company to come get them.

Some say the light resembles more of a swinging lantern, and others say it's a bright, white light like the headlights of a train, before turning into a red light. While the stories vary in detail, they're all the same in that it's an unexplained light that leaves more questions than answers. Two twelfth-graders from LaRonge won a gold medal at a science fair for their attempt to debunk the famous St. Louis legend, claiming the mysterious ghost lights are really just the diffraction of distant vehicle lights on the highway.

Many locals scoff at this theory, saying the lights simply don't resemble car headlights but more importantly, the sightings have existed since before cars were even invented. "My grandmother grew up in St. Louis and used to tell my dad and his siblings all about the ghost light," says a woman now in her 70s. We'll call her Suzanne. "She grew up before cars were invented and even back then, the tale was still a popular one," Suzanne says. "Everyone in St. Louis knew about the light and a lot had claimed to have seen it."

A phantom light spanning decades of sightings and tales, passed down at campfires and family gatherings from generation to generation. Will the mystery of the St. Louis lights ever be solved? Or is it really what people have been saying all these years; that the train lights are real and that a former railway worker shuffles up and down the long-gone railway tracks, in a field cloaked in darkness just outside St. Louis, Saskatchewan.

Source: https://www.sasktoday.ca/north/local-arts/haunted-humboldt-series-the-phantom-lights-of-st-louis-4047974

CTWraith

Went out there about 13 years ago with some buddies of mine and we saw the light on the tracks. We got bold and started walking down the path towards the light, and it was weird because we walked for what seemed like quite a while and never seemed to get closer to it. Then we saw the red light moving about not far from us and we promptly turned around and went back to the beginning of the trail.

3 years later I took the girl I was dating at the time to go see it as she hadn't been there before. We sat in my car for a while, waiting for the sun to go down so we could see the light. It starts to get dark when all of a sudden we hear a loud bang on the side of my car. There was no one else around there, so we got the hell out of there. We got back to St. Louis and I went and looked at the area of my car that had been hit and there was a small hand print on the side panel of my car, just above the rear passenger tire. And by small, I mean like a childs hand print.

Robby J

When I moved to Prince Albert, SK 10 years ago a friend brought me out to see it. I kind of got obsessed watching the light in the distance move side to side then disappear and then come back as twin lights and disappear. It was always far away, I even drove over to the the next grid road to see if I could see something from the other side but nothing could explain it. I was going every night for a week. on the last night the light got much more close to us to the point where it was reflecting off the hood of the car. My friend and brother wanted to walk towards it, just as they were about to get out of the car a red light materialized a few metres closer than the other light. I was scarred and drove out of there fast. the ominous feeling is a real thing there. I went there in the late summer and it seemed at least 5 degrees cooler there than in town.

Lee Constant

I've been there about 30 times. the best I've ever seen it was the very first time i went. which is why i always kept going back. it was really shocking how close it got and they way it moved like a figure eight and split into other lights different colors. literally 50 feet away. it was so alien to me the way it moved i just remember being frozen with astonishment i couldn't believe i was seeing something like that. a few times after that it would get close and sometimes the car wouldn't have power which was very disturbing to me.

Thanks for the reply. What an amazing place. Last time i went there in 2015 the road was closed up with a fence so you could only look from the gravel road. That night i talked about before..everyone thought the light disappeard but i followed it and i could still see it from the moon light relfecting off of it. Still doing the same figure 8s and weird movements but just no light coming from it. Like a floating volley ball in the dark. So weird.

Les and Betty Rancourt

Les and Betty Rancourt, the local people, have memories of seeing the white ghost light which dates back to the time when they were in high school. The couple estimates that they have seen the ghost light more than 50 times. Les as a teenager moved to St. Louis, and he clearly remembers the first time when he saw the ghost light when he was of 16 years. Les explained that they came here and walked down the train track and he saw the ghost light. This light looked like a car light from a considerable distance, but the exciting thing about the light is that it had a little red light which moved around this white light up and down. This area gets located a few km north of St. Louis across the river in the rural municipality of Prince Albert. The land is now private property where the railroad was once at the time. So the village has not got able to promote this place as the tourist attraction or put any landmark there.

Edward Lussier 

Phantom light, ghost light, Louis Ghost Train or phantom train whatever you call it, it is an eerie phenomenon in St. Louis, Sask. There is a legend just outside the small village of 450 people who date back a century. The whole story revolves around the Louis Ghost Train conductor who got decapitated by the train one night either in the front or caboose car. Some people speculate that he either fell or was checking the tracks when the train got reversed over him. Many local people believe that it led to becoming a mysterious ghost train which has long haunted the old tracks and the stories of the conductor that is roaming the tracks looking for his head all around the area.

Edward Lussier of St. Louis has witnessed the ghost light over there. Lussier said that when he was growing up in his teens, they used to go near the track area quite a bit on weekends. If they sat down on the track and looked south down the track of the train, the light would appear there periodically. He then recalled one night in particular. At that one night, the members of his family wanted to see the light. He and his cousin tried to scare them by following in his vehicle.

His father and uncle were walking the train tracks to see the light and his mother and aunt waited at the car parking area. Lussier and his cousin walked behind them to scare them. Lussier said that the light came behind them. His father came running towards them because he thought that they would get scared, but they even had not noticed. Lussier and his cousin did not see the light. It was only visible to his father and uncle. Rancourt said that the light looks like a street light from the distance that is a little brighter and the light gets a little dimmer. There is also a low red light which no seen on either side of it.

They believed that the small red light is the lantern in the hand of the conductor. Many professors, researchers including the universities and army have tried to explain the ghost train phenomenon. Two La Ronge teenagers have received first place in the science fair. At that time they thought to solve the train mystery. In the experiment, they both found a road which lined up with the site. When the father of a girl flashed the lights of his car, the ghost train got appeared. Moreover, the small red lights got emerged when he flared the rear taillights of his car. Local people doubt this theory because the lights got seen a long time before the advent of the cars in that district.

Though the train goes through the north of the village of St. Louis, Sask got removed years ago, yet the place still has a mysterious ghost train which is lighting the path where the tracks were there. For the legend of the ghost train, Edward Lussier, it was the part of growing up in St. Louis. He said that there are certain things which the local people know. According to his estimation, he has seen the light 50 to 60 times in that area.

Lussier said that it was something to do in St. Louis. There was no such person to do this in the small town. This small village is the home for around 450 people which got located 35 km south of Prince Albert. This area gets located a few km north of St. Louis across the river in the rural municipality of Prince Albert. The land is now private property where the railroad was once at the time. So the village has not got able to promote this place as the tourist attraction or put any landmark there.

"We sat there for about an hour, and nothing was happening," Gareau recalls. "And then all of a sudden we saw this light. It was just like a train coming. A bright light coming at us, with a little red light towards the bottom." Enthralled, the Gareaus and their friends watched "for a good two hours" as the steady white beam and its crimson companion appeared to approach, but never arrive. As time skipped by, chatter in the automobile turned to the source of the light. They decided to investigate.

With the light plainly visible through the windshield, they drove straight at it on a rough old road running parallel to the track bed. "We drove, and drove, and drove. And all of a sudden the light was gone. When we looked around, it was right behind us!" Gareau said it "scared the hell" out of at least one member of the party. The ghost train has been a part of St. Louis for as long as anyone can remember. When the rail line was abandoned and the tracks removed years ago, some thought the phenomenon would end. It didn't. Locals say the ghostly apparition can still be seen almost every night.

zWhatever it is, its enduring nature is fertile ground for imaginative legends and theories. One of the most persistent of these involves a hapless conductor who was struck down and decapitated by a train while doing a routine check of the tracks. It's said the bright, yellowish light belongs to the old steam locomotive pulling his train. The smaller, red one, is the lantern he's using in a futile search for his head.

Source: https://www.virtualsk.com/current_issue/family_ghost_hunt.html

As they left, we immediately pulled onto the path that runs parallel to the tracks. We travelled in a southward direction for perhaps 200 metres (215 yards) when my wife asked: "What's that?" Sure enough, there was a dim light ahead of us in the distance. I stopped the car, turned off the lights, and we watched as the light got brighter and moved slowly from left to right before us. I think we were more excited than frightened, although the kids would later refuse to get out of the car for a better view.

Over a period of about an hour, the light made a series of appearances about every 15 minutes. It came into view, grew brighter, moved slowly to our right, and then it faded out. Each sighting was 30 seconds to a minute in length, followed shortly thereafter by one or two similar episodes. We'd then wait about 15 minutes before the next series began.

The light did not seem as bright as a train light. But I've never seen the light of a steam locomotive. At no time did I notice a beam emanating from it, however, it did appear to be coming in our direction. Several times while the light was present, my wife and I thought we saw a flickering of light on the bank of the old track bed beside us. But that may well have been stimulated imaginations at work, or just clouds moving past the bright moon.

Through binoculars, it looked like a single light with a yellow hue. We agreed it did not resemble automobile lights. I can't offer a good estimate of how far away it was. Without knowing the source, that's difficult. But a really rough guess would put it no closer than 500 metres (540 yards). What was it? We don't know. But we had fun seeing for ourselves the phenomenon known as The St. Louis Ghost Train. We plan to return to the old track bed on a moonless night.

Source: http://www.virtualsk.com/current_issue/ghost_train.html

In 2014, Canada Post featured the haunting on one of their stamps and posted the story online. The legend was that a railway worker had been killed on the tracks near the town of St. Louis close to the South Saskatchewan River. The area is mostly farmland, but there is a tree-lined dirt road where the tracks had once been. Nowadays, fences with “No Trespassing” signs restrict access, but back then the road was wide open. The St. Louis Ghost Light site has appeared in documentaries, newspapers, magazine articles, books, YouTube videos, and on the news. Groups have studied the ghost phenomenon and have proposed theories ranging from swamp gas to headlights in the distance.

I have seen this light 100 times or more. At times, it looks like a large, single headlight. At others, it sways back and forth and is red. This is said to be the conductor looking for his head. I have witnessed these lights during the day, and I have seen them walking along the road in both directions. I have seen them in the distance and I have seen them up close. It is not headlights and there are no swamps nearby. To me, the explanations are even more whimsical than one’s belief in spirits of the dead.

Some sacred spaces incite peacefulness, such as temples of worship, well-tended gardens, and New Age rooms of healing. The St. Louis Ghost Light has the opposite effect. Something feels unsettling. Car stereos turn on or off by themselves. Vehicles sometimes won’t start. The air burns electric. Like many places reputed to be haunted, the old road became a place for parties. The location was remote, so we’d light fires and drink whatever we could get our hands on. Pretty girls would come to impress us, and we’d be there to show them how fearless we really were. Adults came too. Curious first-daters. People bored of the bar. Sometimes the police would arrive. They would pour out our drinks and tell us to put out the fire and leave. These gatherings were spontaneous. There would usually only be one or two cars at a time. If there were several people, it would be the same group of friends hoping to see the light together. On a few occasions, there were a couple of parties taking place at the same time. This usually meant separate bonfires a short distance apart from one another. Being rural, the place was otherwise dark and quiet. The stars were bright and the sounds of civilization were far.

The first time I saw the light up close was a night when several of us had come to build a fire. As usual, music spilled out of a nearby car while the crackling flame kept us warm. We hadn’t learned yet that the spot on the road where we built our fire was a bad one; it was less visible to authorities in the distance, but it wasn’t a good place to see the light. Once we started to build the flame on higher ground we saw the ghost light more often. It would appear and disappear over and over again. It became so common, that eventually it was just a recurring curiosity. It was more than that in the beginning, of course, and always more than that when one of us left the safety of the fire.

That night was the beginning. Three of us had never seen the light, so we left the fire to seek it out. We were brave on the outside, because we listened to hard music, fought, and shot guns. We were also brave because we didn’t believe the stories were real. We thought some of our friends were ahead of us on the old trail, trying to scare us, as an intensely bright flashlight kept shining in our faces. It looked like a motorcycle headlight at 10 feet away. It would be there for several seconds and then go out. We were annoyed because the light was jarring and it hurt our eyes. “Turn that fucking thing off!” I yelled after the third or fourth time.

Eventually, I figured the prank got old and they stopped. We became bored ourselves and headed back to the fire, wondering who had been ahead of us. “Did you see it?” someone asked when we returned. My two friends and I looked back and forth at one another in disbelief. There were thick shrubs on either side of us, so we knew that no one had passed us. There had been no one ahead of us. I had become a believer once more.

Source: https://www.thenav.ca/2016/10/19/st-louis-sk-the-ghost-train/

N 52° 56.890' W 105° 48.032'